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Project S14A Update - Shaping The Widebody Panels

An indication of how much modification will need to be done to fit the very wide rear wheels and rubber (Image credit: Claudio Capozzi)

Work has been proceeding on Project S14A.

Currently the shaping for the widebody setup is being carried out.

There are a few different ways to do a widebody setup. Of course the first stage is detailed sketches and drawings to define the dimensions and shape of the panels.

One you have done the drawings of course you need to get that shape into 3 dimensions, and there are a few different ways to do that ...

The first way is to design the shape of the panels in 3D CAD and then machine the shape of the panels on a large CNC mill to make molds - similar to the process used for designing boat hulls.

One of the issues with doing it that way though on a privately owned project car like Project S14A is the cost of machining the full size shapes to make the molds of the panels.

The advantage of doing it the all digital route is that can allow you to perform computational fluid dynamics work on the shape of the car while the car is completely in digital form, before it is in physical form.

Large car manufacturers use large dies then stamp the panels from steel.

If you're going to use CAD, machine parts to make molds then make the panels from composites, you need a reasonably large CNC mill.

Click here for a photo of a CNC mill used for large scale projects ...

http://www.cncmotion.com/5axiscnc10.jpg

There is a video here of a large 5 axis mill at work ...

http://www.tunersgroup.com/Videos/large_5_axis_mill.html

Hand shaping the rear bodywork of Project S14A in foam. The foam defines the basic shape then a filler is applied to achieve a smooth surface. (Image Credit: Claudio Capozzi)

The other method is to lay up foam or clay in sections then shape it by hand.

That method is often used by large car manufacturers in the design phase, often with the shape of the car done by hand in clay, like this Corvette ...

http://www.cardesignonline.com/images/gm-corvette-clay400.jpg

You can then use a filler to smooth the foam surface and use the foam shaped panels as a "buck" or male section to make molds from.

The hand foam shaping method is what is being used on Project S14A.

Both the CNC route and the hand shaping route are valid methods. They are both methods to move a design from drawings to real world physical 3D shapes.

It takes very careful measurement as well as true skill and craftsmanship to shape the foam by hand, and as shown in the photos, the guys at Magic Autoworks are doing a great job of this.

As seen above, the bodywork on Project S14A is much wider than the factory bodywork. (Image Credit: Claudio Capozzi)

Using the hand foam shaping method then raises the question of "when do you do the Computational Fluid Dynamics testing to optimise the aerodynamics of the car ?"

There is a way to do that, which will be the subject of a future update and of course we haven't left out that stage ... it is simply done at a later stage when using the hand foam shaping method.

You can learn more about Computational Fluid Dynamics and racecar aerodynamics in our article titled "An Introduction To Racecar Aerodynamics & How Aero Can Improve Your Laptimes" which you can read here ...

http://www.tunersgroup.com/engineering/aero_intro.html

You can also learn more about clay modelling, foam modelling etc at these links ...

http://www.cardesignonline.com/design/modelling/clay-modelling.php

http://www.cardesignonline.com/design/modelling/cad/index.php

http://www.cardesignonline.com/design/modelling/other-modelling.php

We'll be updating our blog with progress photos etc as the build progresses, so if you want to see what goes into building a Pro Class World Time Attack Challenge car from the ground up, subscribe to our TunerWire email newsletter by clicking here ...

http://www.tunersgroup.com/Newsletters/index.html

created on 2010-12-19 10:40:06 by adamr

updated on 2011-05-16 21:49:06